A large number of high pressure connectors are in use to carry electrical power to a water pump that lies at the bottom of a deep (e.g. up to 700 feet) water well. There are other also applications, as well, where an electrical connector must be inserted into a passage of a high pressure connector, that is, a connector that can withstand a high pressure environment such as 2,000 psi. The main wires of the connector are terminated to socket contacts of the connector. In a common prior art type of high pressure connector, a ground wire is soldered or welded to the inside of a stainless steel sleeve which is connected to a grounded housing of the high pressure device. The need to provide a deep drawn stainless steel sleeve for reliability, and to solder or weld the ground wire to the sleeve, results in a considerable cost of the connector. A high pressure connector that could be constructed in a simple design and at lower cost would be of value, especially because a large number of them are sold each year.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a connector is provided for use in a high fluid pressure environment for connecting to a device such as a pump motor in the environment, and which can be constructed at low cost. The connector includes a connector body with a frontmost part, a middle part, and a rear part. A nut with an external thread, screws into a threaded hole in a metal casing of the device and presses the body middle part towards a ledge on the device to form a seal thereat. A grounding wire is terminated to a grounding terminal lying in the body rear part and having a finger that projects radially out through the body and that has a finger outer part that is bent to extend forwardly. When the nut is screwed into the device, a smooth inner surface of the nut depresses the finger outer part to establish an electrical connection between the grounding wire and the metal casing of the device.
In one connector, the frontmost mating part and an elastomeric seal that seals against the ledge, are formed as a single elastomeric part. Main wires extend through the elastomeric part and are encapsulated in potting material of a rearwardly-extending sleeve of the elastomeric part. Rigid plastic is then overmolded around the sleeve part and around the grounding terminal except for the projecting finger part.
In another embodiment of the invention, the front mating part, middle part and a rear shell part are all molded as a single piece of rigid plastic. A separate elastomeric ring forms a seal against the ledge. After the wires are inserted through the rear shell part, the rear shell part is filled with potting material.
The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.